I think this is important

Pre-College Issues High School Life
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<p>I was reading an old thread (<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=366360%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=366360&lt;/a&gt;) where a freshman was seeking advice for his motiviation problems.</p>

<p>Among the advice given was the following post by fizix2:

[quote]
Stop thinking. Start studying, or at least doing something other than thinking.
Thinking too hard will probably convince you that studying hard isn't worth it. Which it probably isn't. Or worse yet, that life has no purpose whatsoever. In which case you'll end up depressed and buried knee-deep in obscure philosophy. That happened to me sophomore year, in between my "studying" phase and my "nethack" phase. And then you'll be spending your studying time moping on your bed.</p>

<p>If you want to be a stellar student, self-delusion helps. Don't think about your life -- just live from day to day, and try to understand the material that's at your fingertips.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>What really bothered me was that fizix was only voicing a general consensus in that thread (and the original poster was delighted with fizix's advice). I don't know why it struck a chord inside me but I just had to post this...</p>

<p>To me, fizix's argument is wrong on so many levels.</p>

<p>You are basically giving up freedom for temporary safety. Yes you can chain yourself to the nearsightedness of day-to-day living in order to obtain temporary peace of mind, and yes that may help you get your homework done faster. But by giving up introspection, you also give up planning, foresight, and personal growth. With everything accounted for, the absence of thinking will result in an empty, mediocre robot rather than a "stellar student".</p>

<p>If I could travel back in time to give my freshman self one piece of advice, it would be to do the exact opposite of what fizix proposed.</p>

<p>I admit that living day to day was great in getting the small things done. But if you are always focused on the task at hand, you will lose sight of the big things that matter. Blind in the long-term, crippled by ignorance of self, devoid of inner fulfillment… you will get caught up in the fear, inertia, and blandness of everyday life, which will keep you from important accomplishments/growth (which often have nothing to do with academics). Time will fly, and soon it’ll be too late. (I learned the hard way)</p>

<p>“The unexamined life is not worth living”</p>

<p>Anyways, these are my thoughts, feel free to disagree.</p>

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<p>This is an interesting thread topic.</p>

<p>Please, OP, I'm not trying to be aggressive -- I'm simply curious -- but what are the the things that matter most to you? You said they don't deal with academics (who could entertain such a horrid thought? :)); could you please elaborate on what they are?</p>

<hr>

<p>Fizix and the ee33ee apparently have completely different answers to the age-old Hellenic question: "What is the good life?" Fizix, it seems from her posts, prefers to be caught up in the moment with an old physics textbook or some other scholastic activity. Ee33ee, meanwhile, prefers spending time thinking about herself/himself and his/her role in the scheme of our beloved universe. </p>

<p>I think both viewpoints/lifestyles are valid. I personally think a mix of both is ideal, the sort of Thoreau-ish principle that "moderation is best." Certainly we must be motivated. That can come about if stop worrying about what we can't do and instead focus on what we can. It doesn't necessarily mean that you have to "stop thinking about life," though. You can think about life in a way that doesn't include existentialism or thoughts of your insignificance. You can think of it as a miracle, really, that you even exist. No one forced your parents to meet, or to...well, reproduce. Meanwhile, the thought that we only have one set of 70-100 years to live can be motivation in itself.</p>

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<p>Hmm... I don't think that you really interpreted Fizix's comment correctly... or considered it in context. The freshman didn't WANT to continue being stuck thinking and "moping," as Fizix said. He wanted advice on how to develop some motivation and better study habits. Fizix wasn't advocating a robot-like existence... from her post, in fact, she sounds a lot like the OP of that thread. She was describing how she got over her tendency to drift off in thought.
Unfortunately, there are boring things that one needs to do every day. I don't really enjoy doing repetitive math problems, but I just suck it up and do them. Do I become a "robot" when I'm doing the same kind of math problem over and over and over? Yes, but I have to do things like that sometimes.
If the OP of that thread just "turns into a robot" for those two hours when he has to do boring, tedious work like that, he'll have much longer to do whatever else he wants. And, he won't be burdened by his work and be even happier, and free to philosophize or do whatever he really wants to do.</p>

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<p>To be honest, if you do sit around and think about the meaning of life as ee33ee suggests, you will get no where the real world today. That is a harsh truth.</p>

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<p>I completely agree with fizix's statement.</p>

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<p>Sorry for the late response, i sort of forgot about this thread</p>

<p>I’m not going to get into specifics, but the things that are important to me are pretty typical (yes some have to do with academics, but in a broader sense) of a 17 year old who only recently realizes that they’ve led a timid and ignorant existence, living from one homework assignment to the next and relying on repetitive, mind-numbing video games for sustenance to get them through the day. Ask if you need more elaboration, but I don’t want to turn this into a story of my life.</p>

<p>I don't mean that the OP should stop and think about the universe all the time.. my point is that basic introspection goes hand in hand with all types of success. EVEN IF your only goal is to travel the ivy-studded road to a high corporate job, "living day to day" will be insufficient in the long term. SIMPLE questions like "am I headed in the right direction?" or "Do my time investments correspond with my priorities?" will go a long way</p>

<p>But then again, careful rumination (the kind that is deeper than the examples from above) isn’t easy; it requires conscious effort and brutal honesty. It will often shatter false images you had of yourself. Regret, shock, and frustration can drive you into despair and depression. But were these risks worth it? I think so. One of the few things that stuck with me from english class was Plato's Cave... You can either maintain the status quo and remain safe in darkness, or you can risk temporary blindness by exposing yourself to the sun.</p>

<p>Of course moderation is best. I only posted this because fizix said to "stop thinking about life" altogether. And LesOS, I don't think we're talking about the same thing.. you mentioned turning yourself into a robot for 2 hours to do your homework.. but how exactly can you "live DAY to DAY" for only 2 hours a day?</p>

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<p>Haha, you know it's getting serious when someone drops Plato's Allegory of the Cave...</p>

<p>Unfortunately, I don't think the allegory is applicable to this discussion. Fizix is talking about a lifestyle. Plato is talking about a kind of existence (the Forms).</p>

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<p>Yeah but umm no... I like to drop **** like that all the time, and most of the time I have no idea what im talking about (guess this is what happens when when you BS all your english papers)</p>

<p>I have no idea anything about the cave other than what I learned in 11th grade english class, maybe I had to use a poor example because I'm not well read</p>

<p>Fine then... I'm not saying Plato's philosophy is applicable to this discussion, just that his cave story is. I'm not saying the story is arguing my point, I'm saying that his story of a man and a cave argues a similar situation where ignorance does not bring success, enlightenment carries risk, the truth hurts, etc.,etc.</p>

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<p>I watched A Beautiful Mind this morning. Before John Nash made his break-throughs that overturned Adam Smith's economic paradigm, he eschewed class attendance, conventions, and routine paper-writing. He didn't want to be mired down in the products of inferior minds, so to speak. This approach is not for the faint-hearted and would hold no appeal for many people. I do not even think that many of my current peers are interested in adding something novel to the knowledge of mankind. They are quite happy bobbling along with the flow. In fact, some people pride themselves on being ordinary. </p>

<p>So, in other words, I am quite sure that we do not all examine our lives in the same ways. Which type of an examined life is most worth living? Who invents the yardsticks?</p>